tomato

With the first night of freeze nearing in on New Jersey, I plucked plenty of near-red tomatoes from my Dad’s garden this past weekend. I don’t know how the Garden State does it, but these tomatoes, picked way past the fiery days of August, still pack a wonderful, real tomato flavor. The texture is intact and not reminiscent of those winter, mealy faux-tomatoes.

Savoring these tomatoes came easy: a simple salad. But I ditched the normal Italian-seasoning of mozzarella, oil and balsamic vinegar and traveled a little East. Topping the bright red hunks is not basil, but seaweed. I crumbled Green Chopsticks‘ Roasted Seaweed Crisps over top for a slight taste of the sea and a definitive crunch. With chunky Maldon sea salt and a few grinds of pepper, this salad found all it needed.

Soon the days of easy prep meals will be over, when you could walk into a kitchen, slice a tomato, wash some greens and be eating in 5 minutes.

Instead, we’ll be forced to wait an hour as thick winter squash bakes to tenderness in a hot oven. In winter it’s easier to wait for dinner, as the cold air doesn’t tempt for evening walks and late-night drinks on a rooftop.

But while it’s still lovely outside, and the season’s produce remains quick to prepare, remember that a raw salad is pretty rad.

Raw Summer Salad with Smoked Whitefish

This salad is ripe for flexibility, so throw in what you’ve got in the fridge. The taste of raw vegetables are much different than their cooked counterpart, so it’s fun to remember the snap of a bell pepper and the nose-tingle of a raw onion. With produce so fresh I didn’t even need a dressing, especially as the fatty whitefish salad complemented the clean vegetables.

I sliced up a yellow roma tomato, half a cucumber (peeled), half of a mutli-colored bell pepper and one tiny, tiny onion. I heavily seasoned all of the cut pieces with kosher salt and pepper and then quickly charred a corn tortilla on the burner. I lumped a few spoonfuls of smoked whitefish on top and called it finito.

Believe me, as I pushed each sad bite into my mouth I thought the exact same thing. I’ve made this dish before with great success. Well, a version of the dish. Last time I wanted to create an open omelet I played it safe: whipping up an egg, letting it set, adding cheese to finish. See, it’s beautiful:

When I think of chocolate pairings I usually go with strawberries, orange, mint and perhaps bourbon. Tomato, I think not.

A colleague recently told me how she substitutes water with canned tomato as the wet ingredient for her chocolate cake mix. Yes, you read that right. Tomato in a chocolate cake. As I’m not the baker in my household, it was nice to know that this little experiment would consist only of a box of chocolate cake mix and a can of diced tomatoes.

Following the instructions on the back of the box, an Organic Chocolate Cake Mix from Arrowhead Mills, I added just short of a whole can of Whole Foods 365 brand of no salt added,plain diced tomatoes, pureed.

It sounds nasty, but try mixing a little mayo (or veganaise!) into the peanut butter. If your PB is on the sweet side, remedy that by adding in a little extra salt. If you’re fancy, do all this in a food processor so the PBayo is fully blended. Totally delicious by itself or with jellies.

You won’t believe this, but I returned to Southern California this past weekend. Yes, twotripstoSoCalintwoweeks. And on both those trips, I avoided eggs, which is something that offends and prolongs my hangovers, and generally makes me unhappy. Oh how I craved the Huevos Rancheros in La Jolla!

I haven’t fully investigated where the bad eggs could have landed (but holy shit, the people behind this recall are awful, and I’m ashamed to say, Democratic donors), and therefore I have avoided anything but eggs I buy directly from a farmer.

Last week I fulfilled my craving with a roasted tomato egg salad, but after a weekend yearning for greasy egg sandwiches, I knew what had to be made for lunch upon my return.

There’s no denying it. When I come across a burger on a restaurant menu I’m tempted: a big fat juicy slab of meat always makes for a great dinner. I’m so tempted that even when I’m in no particular mood I always make sure that whichever restaurant I choose there is a good burger available. We all have our downfalls. I’m still seeking a gym buddy.

A nice fresh tomato and onions along with a little ketchup are what I look forward to on my burger, but you know what Burns My Bacon? A crappy tomato that’s what. I get it, tomatoes are expensive, always have been and always will be, but don’t skimp on the tomato on my burger or any other dish for that matter, slice it off and throw it out, just don’t ever serve it. If there are any other uses for ends of tomato then let us know in the comments.